Drivers and Outcomes of Perceived Fairness in Consumer Financial Decisions

In financial decision making, perceived fairness can have substantial influence on individuals’ choices. In this paper, we investigate process and outcome dimensions that moderate perceived fairness for a variety of financial products. Our hypotheses draw from the existing fairness literatures in marketing, economics, and organizational behavior, and relate the fairness concepts from those existing research streams to the particular issues in fairness for financial decisions. Through a series of seven studies, we find that perceived fairness for consumers and firms operate independently and are not always consistent with market assumptions. Fairness judgments are highly sensitive to non-price dimensions such as control, safety, and information, consistent with organizational justice findings.